2014 – 2015 Team Preview: Arizona Coyotes

After winning just two playoff series (qualified eight
times) in 15 seasons as the Phoenix Coyotes, the franchise is now known as theArizona Coyotes. Maybe a name change is just what they need to establish a
winning culture in Arizona, maybe it won’t matter?

In 2013-14 the Coyotes finished fourth in the Pacific
Division with a 37-30-15 record (89 points). A lot of their success relies on
strong play from their goaltender Mike Smith. Smith missed some with a knee
injury in 2013-14, but his 2.64 GAA and .915 SV% were not good enough last
season. He battled inconsistency throughout the season, but should be in for a
better season in 2014-15. Smith will have a new back-up this season, after
Thomas Greiss fled for Pittsburgh and the Coyotes signed Devan Dubnyk to a
one-year deal. Smith stands at 6-foot-4, Dubynk is 6-foot-6… That’s a whole lot
of goalie.

Additions: Subtractions

Sam Gagner – C Mike Ribeiro – C

Joe Vitale – C
Radim Vrbata – RW

B.J Crombeen – RW
Thomas Greiss – G

Devan Dubnyk – G
Tim Kennedy – LW

Derek
Morris – D

Paul
Bissonnette – LW

The Coyotes lost two of their top 5 scorers this offseason.Radim Vrbata (20G / 31A) hit the free-agent market and signed with the Canucks
and Mike Ribeiro (16G / 31A) was bought-out and recently signed with thePredators. To replace Ribeiro the ‘Yotes traded a sixth-round pick for Sam Gagner. The 24-year-old pivot missed the start of the season with a broken jaw,
but finished the year with 37 points (10G / 27A) in 67 games. Gagner should
slide onto the Coyotes second or third line and a change of scenery could be
exactly what he needed to reach the potential the Oilers saw when they picked
him sixth overall in 2007.

The biggest loss for Arizona was the departure of Vrbata. He
is not a household name, but he was an extremely reliable winger over the last
five seasons with the Coyotes. Captain Shane Doan fell below 50 points for the
first time since 2001-02, but much of that can be attributed to the time he
missed with Rocky Mountain Fever. Expect Doan to get back to a 20-plus goal,
50-plus point season in 2014-15.

Keith Yandle, 27, led the Coyotes in scoring last season
with 53 points (8G / 45A), which tied him with P.K Subban for fifth amongst NHL
D-men. The other gem they have on the back-end is 22-year-old OliverEkman-Larsson. He was fifth in goals amongst blueliners with 15 and his 44
points was good for 14th. Both were career-highs for the young Swede, who has
improved every season and 2014-15 should see him grow even further.

Season prediction:

Coyotes finish fourth in the Pacific for the second straight
year, battling San Jose and Minnesota for the last Wild Card spot in the West.

Click HERE for the entire roster and salary cap situation
heading into the 2014-15 season

Click HERE for the Coyotes potential line combinations
heading into the 2014-15 season from DailyFaceoff.com.

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